DENVILLE — Students and parents who have contacted NJ.com say a protest against Morris Knolls High School's dress code Friday had a bigger impact on the school day than Morris Hills Regional School District Superintendent James J. Jencarelli has described.

Star-Ledger File Photo

"Mr. Jencarelli is our superintendent, but isn't in the school," a student who said he runs the @KnollsHeads Twitter account — one of several that promoted the protest, alleging the dress code promotes rape culture — wrote in an email to NJ.com.

"Our dress code bans 'suggestive clothing,' which perpetuates the myth that women are raped because of what they wear, that exposing their skin means they are 'asking for it.'" reads a sign the @KnollsHeads Twitter account shared with its followers. "It also suggests male students cannot be held responsible for their behavior if presented with such 'distracting' clothing. This is rape culture. Why does the administration support it?"

As of Wednesday, the Tweet containing the sign and others by the account promoting the protest were no longer online.

Jencarelli told NJ.com Tuesday he was aware of the protest, but said it seemed bigger on social media than in the actual school environment. School officials didn't notice an excess of students breaking the dress code, as @KnollsHeads and others encouraged them to do Friday, he said. And most dress code violations were not handled as disciplinary matters, he said — students were told to change and offered T-shirts if their clothing was inappropriate, the superintendent said. He said that's the district's typical response to dress code violations, and said some students break the dress code unknowingly.

Jencarelli also said the protest didn't do much to open a new dialogue — and that issues like the ones the students seemed to want to address are already discussed through character education programs.

Student Patrice Chiaramonte wrote to NJ.com Tuesday, saying she had to sit in in-school suspension for 45 minutes for wearing jean shorts. According to the dress code, skirts, dresses and shorts may not be any shorter than five inches above the knee.

"The whole reason this was news worthy is because it was different," Chiaramonte wrote. "It defied the 'social norm' of June behavior for white upper-middle class kids living in suburbia. To say that we didn't make a difference is just silly."

Megan Coakley said both her sons were involved in the protest, and said about 60 students came to school in tank tops. The image distributed by @KnollsHeads had said students would be "baring our shoulders to expose the truth."

Coakley said both of her sons were stopped at the door by an adminstrator, and when they both continued toward their classrooms without agreeing to change, her senior was threatened with "severe consequences, including not walking at graduation."

"He was later sent to in-school suspension because he refused to put on a T-shirt, as were all students who did not comply. My sophomore son proceeded to his first block classroom and was in the midst of doing his school work when an administrator, not the teacher, entered his classroom and took him to the office," Coakley wrote in an email to NJ.com.

She said she was contacted by an administrator at 11:30 to say her senior son had not agreed to put on a shirt — and that while there were shirts in guidance, the district had run out because of the amount of student protestors. Because she didn't want her son to miss a quarterly test, she said, she brought a shirt to school. A friend of his who refused to change spent the full day in in-school suspension, she said.

"The protest was organized as a one-time event to raise awareness to the language that is used in the dress code, and the pervasive attitudes that persist in sexualizing and objectifying women," Coakley wrote. "I think the administration could have taken the opportunity to talk to the students collectively, rather than choosing to punish them."

She also wrote that students should be commended for organizing themselves and protesting non-violently.

The dress code, as detailed in a note to freshmen at the beginning of the school year, bans "extremely low cut, tight fitting, or transparent clothes, bare midriffs and suggestive clothing."

In addition: All shirts by boys or girls must have sleeves. Pants must be worn so that underwear isn't visible. Head coverings are only allowed for religious reasons. Chains, cables, or other jewelry that could be used as weaponry is prohibited. Clothing referencing sex, drugs, or alcohol, or is demeaning to gender, race or ethnic groups is prohibited as well. Outdoor jackets, coats, or winter hats are not allowed.

"This is really stupid," user "fihe" wrote. "It's not even just girls who have to abide by the dress code. I don't think boys would be allowed to have their drawers showing with their sagging pants, or a stringer showing off half their chest. It has nothing to do with 'rape culture;' it has to do with looking professional and presentable for an academic environment."

User "aylorslaces" wrote that the teens at Morris Knolls "need to grow up."

"I am a woman and I am sick of seeing young men with their underwear hanging out and young ladies putting their 'goods' on sale," she wrote. "Teach children about modesty and social decency for crying out loud."

But user VT said Morris Knolls can easily reach temperatures in the 90s by the end of the school year, and tank tops shouldn't be a problem.

"I haven't seen a single person arguing that they should be able to wear shorts that have their butt peeking out, or walk around with their midriff showing. As it says in the article they were 'baring our shoulders to expose the truth.' Are shoulders an inappropriate body part? I -really- don't think so," VT wrote.

VT continued: "Regardless, the kids were suspended for showing their shoulders in school which is absolutely disgusting. It's good to know that enforcing a BS dress code is more important than these passionate students receiving an education."